Decision on jailed ethnic Greek mayor pushed to after polls
In a decision aiming to undermine the candidacy with New Democracy in the European elections of the jailed ethnic Greek mayor of Himare, the Albanian judiciary has transferred the first hearing of Fredi Beleri’s appeal to the Court of Appeal to June 7.
As the proceedings will not be exhausted in one sitting, it is quite clear that the appeal will be decided after the European Parliament elections on June 9.
The creation of obstacles is also seen to be aimed at dressing Beleri with a cloak of irregularity in order to reinforce the image that Edi Rama’s government is projecting in Albania of a war on corruption.
Moreover, it is quite clear that Rama is waiting to see whether Beleri will be elected in the European elections and, if so, what ranking he will achieve.
A possible election of Beleri to one of the top positions on ND’s European candidate list, even from prison, will be another problem for the Albanian PM.
